marcus



`March 19, 1929. c'. MARCUS DOORCHECK AND SMILAR DEVICE Filed Sept. '7, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet vINVENTOR 'izarZesJfarcus 'B @A gv ATTORNEY;

March 19, 1929. c. MARCUS DOORCHECK AND SIMILAR DEVICE Filed Sept. 7 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvEN-roR GizarZesMrcus (0 WAAZTORNEYg/ Patented Mar. 19, 1929.

einen arras CHARLES MARCS, OF YORK, Y.

DooRcHEoK Ann Application filed September My invention relates to door operating mechanism of the general class commonly known as door checks, and will be here -described as embodied in a door operating mechanism, although the invention may be available, or is capable of being adapted, for other uses.`

Door checks in common use include a spring which acts as aV motor element to close the door after it has been opened,`an d the most successful devices employ hydraulic or pneumatic means, or a combination of such means,v to regulate the closing movement. No simple andsatisfactory friction mechanism has been suggested or employed, to my knowledge, to regulate the closing movement.

An important object of my invention is to provide simple, cheaply constructed and durable friction mechanism to regulate the closing movement, in connection with a suitable spring.

' door or Another object is to provide a movable friction element or actuator which is itself frictionally actuated by a movable part of the device to apply proper retarding friction during the closing movement.

A further object is to provide such a friction` element which is to a certain eX- tent spring-operated or spring-controlled, or which is affected by relatively fixed and movable inclined surfaces such as vscrew threads; and preferably'to providesuch a friction element which is controlled by the combined effects of a'spring and such inclined surfaces.

The invention in the physical embodiment herein represented, briefly described, comprises an element designed forconnection or substantially immovable attachment to a door casing, a relatively movable element adapted forconnection to the other part of the door structure, the rela-tively movable parts having (fo-operating friction surfaces or an interposed friction element, a motor spring, an'actuator or pressure member adapted to `be moved by frictional cooperation with the movable element, a controlling` or regulating spring actingrupon the actuator or `pressure member, and inclined surfaces such as screw Athreads cooperating with the actuator or pressure member. l

The (,harzmteristics and advantages of the invention are further suiiiciently explained in connection with the following detail. den

SIMILAR nevion v, 192s. serai No. 651,416.

scription of the accompanying drawings, which show one exemplifying embodiment of the invention. After considering this embodiment, persons skilled in the art will understand` that many modifications may be made, and I contemplate the employment of any structures which are properly within thev scope of the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a sectionin the plane of the spindle aXis.

Figure 2Yis a view, partly in bottom plan, and partly in transverse section on different planes.'

Figure 3 shows the device attached to a door and door frame in one suitable way.

Figure l is atorque diagram.

The casing 1, 'K of generally cylindrical form, is providedwith flanges 2 and suitable bolt holes for attachment to a door D, Figure The upper casingend or wall 3 may be integral with the cylindrical side wall, and the casing bottom may be closed by a cover 4l detachably secured by screws 5. A shaft or spindle 6 passes centrally Vthrough the casing and is immovably secured in any suitable way; for instance, the spindle has a threaded portion 7 screwed into a threaded sleeve 8 of cover 4, and desirably, the spindle also has a shoulder 9 which is firmly scated against the interior face of the cover when the spindle is screwed in tight; and the spindle may further be locked against rotative movement by a nut 10 screwed on an outer part of the spindle and bearing against the end of sleeve 8.

A friction disc l1 is operatively connected or integral with a sleeve 12, rotatively .mounted on an upper portion 13 of the spindie, the sleeve also having a bearing fit in an aperture 14 of the housing top plate 3. The lsleeve 12 or an inward part of friction disc l1 rests on a shoulder 15 of the spindle and a nut 16 may be screwed on the upper end of the spindle in opposed relation to the upper'end of sleeve 12, with suitable clearance to provide for wear of friction surfaces. A lever arm 17 of suitable length is provided with a hub v18 nonrotatively secured to sleeve 12 in any suitable way, for instance, by a key 19, and the hub may be further secured against endwise displacement by a nut 20 screwed on the upper end oj the sleeve. At the outer end of arm 17 is a ball 21 or any other suitable device for connecting to the arm a suitable link 22, Figure 'fnbich is also pivote-ily `secured to cover 4.

a bracket 23 which is secured to the door casing or frame F. In some cases the check casing l might be secured to the frame and bracket 23 would in that case be secured to the door; but the other arrangement, as shown in Figure 3 is customary and preferred in most cases.

A motor spring 25 of suitable form and strength is located in the casing'. This spring is usually of hel-ical forni and is moet conveniently located near the cylindrical casing wall 1Q One end of the spring has an outwardly yturned member or toe 26 which is secured in any convenient way in fixed position in the casing, for instance, by forming` a notchv in the outer surface of wall l, in which the toe 26 is located and secured by The other end of the spring has'an upwardly turned member or toe 27 which is `located in one ofa series of notches 28 formed in the periphery of friction disc 1l. While in some cases externally operated means may be provided for adjusting spring 25, in the present instance the spring adjustment is effected while cover 4 is removed by placing spring member or toe 27 in a suitable notch 28 to give the desired spring ension and motive effect for closing the door.

Evidently the motor spring is not necessarily included in the present apparatus, or enclosed within the casing l. The control mechanism will obviously act to control door movement when the motor spring or equivalent device is applied in any manner to close the door after it has been opened.

A friction discr 30, which may otherwise be identified as a flan-ge, or as a pressure member, or in combination with connected screw threads or other inclined surfaces, may be designated as Aan actuator, -is arranged in parallel relation to friction disc ll. Diso 3() is connectcifl to or operatively integral with a sleeve 8l,- the innerl surface of which is provided with one or more suitable screw thread-s 32 cooperating with screw threads 38 formed on the spindle. In a broad aspect of the invention these screw threads represent any suitable inclined surfaces for moving` or urging` the sleeve or the actuator consisting of the sleeve and its flange 30, in the direction of the spindle axis when a rotative effort is applied to the flange by frictional cooperation with disc 11. The pitch of the screw threads or other inclined surfaces may be varied within suitable limits as sufficiently explained hereafter. A substantial thread clearance, sufliciently represented at 34, is

also preferably provid-ed for reasons eX- plained hereafter.

An inner portion of housing. end 3 is provided with a friction surface 40 cooperating with or confronting the upper friction surface of disc ll, and preferably an annular disc 4l of suitable friction material is located between these surfaces, and this disc may be secured by rivets or otherwise to casing end combined flange and sleeve 3l is preferably if controlled by a spring and in the present specific embodiment ofthe invention such an actuator or controlling Vspring is repre- Y sented by heli al spring 50, one end of which bears against flange oi disc 3() and the otherl end bears against apart of .they casing or thev casing cover 4. To provide for convenient adjustment of spring 50, its outer end desirabiy rests against a suitable plurality of evenly spaced pins 5l which pass through guide-holes in cover 4, and the outer ends of the pins in turn rest against an adjusting flange or nut 52, which has threaded engagement with the outer surface of sleeve 8. When desired, a nut 53 may be provided to lock the adjusting flange in adjusted position.

on spindle 6, as shown in Figure l, when the door is opened, arm 17 moves clockwise in relation to the casing and spindle 6. Disc l1 connected to the arm through sleeve l2 pending on the spring pressure and the pitch f angle of the screw threads. As soon as the disc 30 is retracted very slightly in the axial direction, it ceases to rotate and there after disc Il or its friction disc 42 slips on the lfriction surface of disc 30 with very much reduced or in some cases substantially negligible friction resistance 'to the dooropening movement. kDuring the opening movement motor spring 25 is coiled up tighter y the engagement of its end 27 with theperiphery of disc ll. VThen the door is released lthe Vmotor spring immediately commences to close it. In the. closing movement, arm li moves counter-clockwise (Figure or the end ofthe arm moves toward the observer in Figure l. During the first part of the closing movement (represented by a small angle of door movement) disc 30 lilith the device set up as shown in Figure 3, and with a right-hand screw thread' lll) moves along with disc 11 and the only resistance to the closing movement isthat due to friction` between disc l1 or its friction member 41 and surface 40 of the housing, this friction pressure being due to the end thrust of spring 50'without amplification by the screw. threads. In other words, during the first sinalVangle of closing movement there is very little or a substantially negligible resistance to the motive effect of spring and the closing movement of the door therefore commences promptly and the door picks up speed with desirable rapidity. lhen the thread clearance is taken up, the lowersurface of screw threads SZencounter the upper surfaces of threads 33, and there-V` upon-the angularity of the screw threads urges disc upward with increased pressure, this depending on the thread pitch angle of the screw and the pressure of spring 50. Disc 30 is now prevented from further rotation and disc l1 moves in frictional contact with dise 30 and the friction surface of the casing. A suitable vigorous retarding effect is thus applied to arm 17 to properly retard or check the door, the maximum retardation being built up rapidly or practically immediately after the thread clearance is taken up, vand continuing through the closing movement. The effect upon the door movement, however, is a variable one, due to the varying angularities of arm 17 and link 22-as shown in Figure 3, and is better vunderstood from the diagram, Figure 4. vIn the diagram, line A shows that the motive effect or torque of motor spring'25 is practically constant, and line B shows that while the actual friction retarding effect imposed on arm 17 is practically constant throughout its stroke (disregarding the slight angle of free movement provided by thread clearance), the effective torque acting to close the door variesv throughout the movement, being high at the beginningv ofthe closing movement (indicated by()o inthe diagram) and decreasing vrapidly toward the mid-angle of movement, and then increasing gradually until the closing torque near the end of the movement is relatively high, and sufficient to insure )roper latching of the door. i

As a ove stated, the angle of the screw threads may be varied considerably. The thread pitch will not in any case bev fine enough to cause positive locking between disc 30 and disc l1. The steepness of the pitch may be increased in an extreme `case up to a point where the sleeve 31 is connected to the spindle by straight splines; but in that case spring would exert the same friction effectr in both directions of door movement. The increase of the steepness of pitch of the screw threads will therefore usually, and in preferred cases, not be sufficient to eliminate the effectof the screw threads'on the spring; or otherwise stated, the angle of thread pitch is preferably within such limits that in the opening movement the friction effect, due to spring pressure,-will be considerably reduced, and in the closing movement the pressure effect of flange 30 will be largely amplified by the action of the screw threads. 4

yEvidently a great many changes in construction or arrangement of parts may be made and 1 do not limit myself to details except as claimed.

'1 claim:

l. An appliance for controlling doors and similar purposes, comprising relatively revoluble elements, retarding means acting by friction to retard relative movement of said elements, and frictionally operated means for varying the friction effect of-sa-id retarding means in the different directions of relative movement of said elements, said last named means including inclined members tending to increase the effective pressure and friction effect in one direction and to reduce the friction effect in the other direction of movement.

2. A controller for doors and similar purposes, comprising two relatively movable members adapted to be secured or connected n to relatively movable elements'such a door and door frame, friction means adapted to resist relative movement of said members, an actuator for-said friction means, said actuator being frictionally operated, a spring cooperating with the actuator, and means tending to retract the actuator in one direction of relative movement.

3. A controller for doors and similar purposes, comprising two relatively movable members adapted to'be secured or connected to relatively movable elements such as a door and door frame, a motor spring acting between said members, friction means adapted to resist relative movement of saidmembers, an actuator, a spring cooperating with the actuator, and inclined surfaces tending to retract the actuator and reduce the friction. y

effect in one direction of relative movement of said members and to advance the actuator and increase the friction effect in the other direction of relative movement.

1. A controller for doors and ,similar purriorly of the casing for adjusting said coiitrolling spring.

13. A controller for doors and similar purposes, comprising a casing adapted to be connected to one of two relatively movable elements such as adoor and its frame, a spindle secured noniotatively to the casing, an arm mounted for rotation about the spindle and adapted to be connected to theing through one end of the casing and engag- Co i.,

ing the outward end of said last-named spring, and an adjustment nut having threaded engagement vwith an exterior part of the casing and bearing against the outer ends of the pins to adjust and form an operative abut-ment for said spring.

14. A door check or the like, comprising a substantially cylindrical casing having an open end, a cover detacliably secured at "that Y end, a spindle passing through the casing and iiXedly secured in the cover, a sleeve rotatively mounted on the spindle near one end thereof and" provided with a flange cooperating with a friction surfacein the casine' g, a motor spring having one ofvits ends secured to the casing and kits other end secured to said flange, an arm secured to said sleeve exteriorly of the`casing,.an actuator including a sleeve having screw-thread engagement with the spindle and a friction disc operatively connected with the sleeve, said friction disc having' a surface cooperating with the friction surface of ksaid flange,

and a controlling spring acting between the casing cover and the actuator.

15.`A door check or the like, comprising a substantiallly cylindrical casing having an open end, a cover detachably secured at that end, a'spindle passing through Athe casingl and iixedly secured in the cover, a sleeve rotatively mounted on the spindle near one end thereof and provided witha flange cooperating with a friction surface in the casing, a motor spring having one of .its ends secured to the casing and its other end secured to said flange, an arm secured to said sleeve eXteriorly of the casing, an actuator including a sleeve having screw-thread engagement with the spindle and a friction disc operatively connectedwith the sleeve, said ffriction disc having a surface cooperating with the friction surface of said flange, and a helical controlling spring within the casing and exerting thrust against the actuator tending to move it axially and to produce friction Contact between the actuator disc, the flange and the casing.

16. A door check or the like, comprising a substantially cylindrical casing having an open end, a cover detacliably secured at that end, a spindle passing through the casing and iiXedly secured in the cover, a sleeve rotatively mounted on the spindle near one end thereof rand provided with a flange cooperating with a friction Asurfacel in the casing, a motor spring having one of its ends secured to the casing and its other end secui'ed to said flange, an arm secured to said sleeve exteriorly of the casing, an actuator including a sleeve having screw-thread engagement with the spindle and a friction disc operatively connected with the sleeve, substantial clearance being provided between comprising a lever, a mounting on which the lever is supported for oscillation, relatively iiXed and movable friction members, a spring, and an actuator frictionally operated by movement of one of the said friction members and co-operating with the springv to urge the friction members into slipping frictional Contact during movement of the leverin one direction and acting to relieve the friction pressure in the other direction of lever movement.

19. An appliance of the class described comprising a. lever, a mounting on which the lever is supported for oscillation, relatively fixed and movable members,` a pressure spring, a frictioiially operated actuator cooperating .with the spring to urge the friction members into frictional contact, and a screw-threaded element co-'operating with the actuator to make frictional resistance more effective during lever movement in one direction and substantially ineffective in the other direction of lever movement.

Signed at Hoboken inthe county of Hude son and State of New Jersey this 27th day 

